Bringing fresh ideas to science

Darden Primary event gives kids chance to think, explore, create.

Darden Primary event gives kids chance to think, explore, create.

February 27, 2007|KATIE KOHLER Tribune Staff Writer

Justice Johnson wanted to see if Gorilla Glue really is the best, as they advertise. Cassidy Hoover was inspired to study the human ear. And other projects in the Darden Primary Center science fair ranged from mold, magnets and the solar system to how playful cats are, plant growth and floating grapes. In all, more than 100 students in kindergarten through the fourth grade participated in the recent event. Karen Arndt, mother and co-chair of the science fair, recognized the event as beneficial to the students. "While it is not mandatory, we strongly recommend students to participate," she said. Students began working on their projects before Christmas break, giving them time to perfect their ideas -- on their own. "These projects are independent. It is the kids' projects, not their parents'," Arndt said. "Some parents influenced their children more than others, but overall, we encourage the students to do their own work as much as they can." The projects were judged by members of the University of Notre Dame chemistry department and volunteers. Michelle Boggess, also co-chair of the event, helped to coordinate the judging as her husband, William Boggess Jr., is the assistant chair of chemistry and biochemistry at Notre Dame. "We (the co-chairs) and the professors judge the projects on what we think is most original and most well done," Michelle Boggess said. Winners of the science fair do not stop at Darden Primary Center, however. The school will send four fourth-graders to compete in the Notre Dame Regional Science Fair on Saturday. "This is a great opportunity since they are not old enough to compete on the state or national level," Michelle Boggess said. There were individual winners within each grade, but the four overall winners were judged to have submitted the most unique and challenging projects. Justice Johnson, one of the students moving on to the Notre Dame fair, titled her project "Is Gorilla Glue truly the strongest glue on Earth?" Her project was inspired by a trip to the hardware store with her dad. "One day, my dad and I were at the store and saw Gorilla Glue, which said it was the strongest glue on earth on the label, so we wanted to see if it was true," she said. Justice tested Elmer's Glue, Crazy Glue, Carpenter's Glue and the Gorilla Glue. In her project at least, she learned that Gorilla Glue stuck to its slogan and proved to be the strongest. She is planning on making improvements to her project before the next level at Notre Dame. "I am going to do more research and add a little ... maybe try another kind of glue," she said. The other overall winning projects included "Can You Get Sunburn in the South Bend Winter," by Bethany Boggess; "Is His Bite Worse Than His Beak," by Adam Staszewski; and "Can We Mix Color with Persistence of Vision," by Erica Coleman. Cassidy Hoover, who took third place in the fourth grade, investigated the human ear. "I looked in science books and learned about sound," she said. Her inspiration, however, was what she learned in her own science class. "We were learning about the eye and I was going to do that, but no one else was doing the ear so I thought it would be good to pick," she said. She, too, hopes to improve her project for next year. "Next year I want to do a human experiment and use pictures, earplugs and music to test people's ears and hearing," she said.Staff writer Katie Kohler: kkohler@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6112